Young children are being vaccinated for free because they are what experts call ‘super shedders’, meaning they excrete more of the virus because their immune systems cannot distinguish between what makes them ill and what will kill them.

As a result, children produce a stronger ‘transmission’ of the flu - just as was the case in 2009 with the Swine Flu outbreak.

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Protection against both the Aussie strain and Yamagata, which was first identified in Japan, are included in the flu jab offered free to all two and three-year-olds by GPs and by schools for children from reception to year four.

This is set to be extended to older schoolchildren aged up to 18 in future years.

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Unlike H3N2, protection against Yamagata is not included in the vaccine for over-65s or vulnerable patients, such as those with diabetes or respiratory disease.

Yamagata is a category ‘B’ strain of flu. Complications are less common and most people will recover within a week.

This means it’s less serious than Aussie strain, which is a category ‘A’.

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Graham Munslow, clinical screening and immunisation manager for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, which covers an area affected by recent reports, said: “Yamagata is not in the vaccination for the elderly population so we could well start to see it in other age groups.

"It’s relatively mild but there can be more serious cases. We are really pushing vaccines because flu season lasts until the end of March which means we have three more months’ worth of cases.

“There’s plenty of time to get the vaccine and there’s no problem with the supply of the vaccine.”